Did you know that your life has a natural rhythm to it? Did you realize that there are things you do daily, weekly, monthly you do not divert away from? We all live within a natural rhythm of life. It is our flow. We go to the same restaurants, grocery stores, and entertainment venues. Typically we work with the same people in the same location. Our rhythms give structure to our lives and allow us to keep a sense of routine that our human nature naturally gravitates toward.
Disciplines are embedded within the natural rhythms of our lives. When rhythms change, disciplines can slip, and we may lose our ability in a certain practice or skill. A good example is the significant transition from high school to college, a time when everyone warns you, "Beware of the freshman 15!" My own rhythm changed dramatically at this time. In high school I was active, constantly in the gym, working out, playing basketball, soccer, etc. But in college, my rhythm changed to hanging out in dorms, sitting in classes, and a lot of studying (though my wife tells me this makes me sound much more studious than I actually was). When my rhythm changed, my discipline of exercise slipped, and, well, I said hello to my freshman 15 (for those of you who don't understand the reference, it means I got a little fatter...). Disciplines can easily fit in to our life rhythms, but if our rhythm changes, we need to learn to adjust if we want to keep up any disciplines that may not have transferred.
For decades churches thrived at sharing the gospel and discipling individuals into a relationship with Jesus. However, a transition point occurred when culture began to change its assumptions of truth and reality. People were no longer "attracted" to the attractional model of church and a chasm grew between the church culture and the culture at large. This transition changed the natural rhythms that people operated out of and the discipline of evangelism and discipleship began its rapid descent to the background of the Christian walk. I think a lot of churches recognize the importance and significance of evangelism and discipleship, but have no idea how to reinsert them into their DNA.
The process has to begin with reevaluating our rhythms. The way most people stop and reverse a weight gain trend is first to examine the way they were living life before the weight gain and what changes have taken place that has caused the gain to occur. Then they can begin making changes that will help reverse the process. It is not that cut and dry when it comes to evangelism and discipleship, but the process still begins by evaluating our rhythms. Beginning to look at our rhythms as something that we control and can actively engage is the first step to making evangelism and discipleship a part of our DNA.
Many of us allow our rhythms to happen without active engagement on our part. We go to the store, restaurant and work and do not think twice about the opportunities presented to us. I believe there are, at minimum, ten people that we all see on a regular basis that we have never met beyond a casual wave or "hello." The barista(s) at your regular starbucks, the cashier at your grocery store, the person who braves the gym at the same time as you... There are multiple opportunities during the regular rhythm of our day, week and month, to present the gospel to people who desperately need to hear the story of Jesus. Too often we view evangelism as an event that is done outside the natural rhythms of our life. We have to set a time to go door knocking or bring people to a church event, things that not only are contrary to our rhythms, but interrupt the rhythm of the other person involved. However, missional living requires that we begin to actively engage our natural rhythms and not let them simply happen to us.
People are most successful at maintaining a healthy weight when they make the disciplines of diet and exercise a part of the natural rhythms of their life. The same is true of all spiritual disciplines. We should not assume that we will become better at praying, fasting, confession and worship without actively making them a part of the flow of our life. Disciplines that are practiced sporadically and unintentionally will never become a part of our rhythms. If we begin to find ways to make evangelism and discipleship a part of our natural life rhythms then we will be on our way to bringing these much needed disciplines to the forefront of our journey with Christ.
Make sure you check out my next post when I'll talk more about what to do with the opportunities our natural rhythms provide us (so you don't feel the anxiety of thinking that if you see the same barista twice in a row you have to jump in to a 30 minute gospel shpeel).
Disciplines are embedded within the natural rhythms of our lives. When rhythms change, disciplines can slip, and we may lose our ability in a certain practice or skill. A good example is the significant transition from high school to college, a time when everyone warns you, "Beware of the freshman 15!" My own rhythm changed dramatically at this time. In high school I was active, constantly in the gym, working out, playing basketball, soccer, etc. But in college, my rhythm changed to hanging out in dorms, sitting in classes, and a lot of studying (though my wife tells me this makes me sound much more studious than I actually was). When my rhythm changed, my discipline of exercise slipped, and, well, I said hello to my freshman 15 (for those of you who don't understand the reference, it means I got a little fatter...). Disciplines can easily fit in to our life rhythms, but if our rhythm changes, we need to learn to adjust if we want to keep up any disciplines that may not have transferred.
For decades churches thrived at sharing the gospel and discipling individuals into a relationship with Jesus. However, a transition point occurred when culture began to change its assumptions of truth and reality. People were no longer "attracted" to the attractional model of church and a chasm grew between the church culture and the culture at large. This transition changed the natural rhythms that people operated out of and the discipline of evangelism and discipleship began its rapid descent to the background of the Christian walk. I think a lot of churches recognize the importance and significance of evangelism and discipleship, but have no idea how to reinsert them into their DNA.
The process has to begin with reevaluating our rhythms. The way most people stop and reverse a weight gain trend is first to examine the way they were living life before the weight gain and what changes have taken place that has caused the gain to occur. Then they can begin making changes that will help reverse the process. It is not that cut and dry when it comes to evangelism and discipleship, but the process still begins by evaluating our rhythms. Beginning to look at our rhythms as something that we control and can actively engage is the first step to making evangelism and discipleship a part of our DNA.
Many of us allow our rhythms to happen without active engagement on our part. We go to the store, restaurant and work and do not think twice about the opportunities presented to us. I believe there are, at minimum, ten people that we all see on a regular basis that we have never met beyond a casual wave or "hello." The barista(s) at your regular starbucks, the cashier at your grocery store, the person who braves the gym at the same time as you... There are multiple opportunities during the regular rhythm of our day, week and month, to present the gospel to people who desperately need to hear the story of Jesus. Too often we view evangelism as an event that is done outside the natural rhythms of our life. We have to set a time to go door knocking or bring people to a church event, things that not only are contrary to our rhythms, but interrupt the rhythm of the other person involved. However, missional living requires that we begin to actively engage our natural rhythms and not let them simply happen to us.
People are most successful at maintaining a healthy weight when they make the disciplines of diet and exercise a part of the natural rhythms of their life. The same is true of all spiritual disciplines. We should not assume that we will become better at praying, fasting, confession and worship without actively making them a part of the flow of our life. Disciplines that are practiced sporadically and unintentionally will never become a part of our rhythms. If we begin to find ways to make evangelism and discipleship a part of our natural life rhythms then we will be on our way to bringing these much needed disciplines to the forefront of our journey with Christ.
Make sure you check out my next post when I'll talk more about what to do with the opportunities our natural rhythms provide us (so you don't feel the anxiety of thinking that if you see the same barista twice in a row you have to jump in to a 30 minute gospel shpeel).
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